Did you know it’s the 20th anniversary of the first legal same-sex wedding and marriage?
Twenty years ago, Dutch couple Gert Kasteel and Dolf Pasker became the first same-sex couple to get legally married in the Netherlands and the world. Kasteel and Pasker were among a group of four gay couples, three male couples and one female couple,that got married shortly after midnight on April 1, 2001. Almost all of the couples have stayed together since that day. Unfortunately, one of the men, Frank Wittebrood, died of a heart attack in 2011 at the age of 55.
Now, twenty years later, the couple are celebrating the anniversary.
Dutch couples mark 20th anniversary of world's first same-sex marriages https://t.co/S7trlMk2Nx pic.twitter.com/Cd7z8ofyN5
— Reuters (@Reuters) April 1, 2021
“It’s nicer to say to other people ‘he’s my husband, he’s my man’,” said Dolf in reflection, according to the Thomson Reuters Foundation. “It has helped me to accept myself.”
In reference to the growing number of countries who have legalized same-sex marriage, Gert said, “I’m very proud that it’s possible.” Dolf then completed Gert’s sentence by saying,: “that we could play a little part of it. We made history.”
Currently, there are 29 countries that have legalized same-sex marriage. Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Denmark, Ecuador, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, the United States of America and Uruguay make up the list.
With today being the 20th anniversary of the legal first same-sex marriages in the world, we can’t help but wonder how many countries will join that list in the next 20 years.
Source: Reuters,
My husband and I had a ceremony in Colorado in 2001 even though it was not technically legal. In 2015 when it became legal we did it all over again to make it legal and put on paper. We are still very happily married to this day and will be until death do us part. I wish all sane sex couples happiness, love and serenity in the life we are given.